Control over mineral resources will remain with people of Ukraine, - Svyrydenko
The minerals agreement with the United States does not contradict the Constitution of Ukraine.
This was stated by First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko during a press conference, Censor.NET reports.
According to her, control over subsoil remains with the people of Ukraine. The agreement does not provide for the transfer of subsoil, existing mining licences or state-owned enterprises to the investment fund.
"Are subsoil resources being transferred? No, they are not. Are licences or state-owned enterprises being transferred? Property is not being transferred, licences are not being transferred. We determine where to extract, what to extract. I want to emphasise once again that the control over subsoil remains, as it should be in accordance with the Constitution, with the people of Ukraine," Svyrydenko explained.
The Vice Prime Minister noted that nothing has changed for market participants engaged in mining in Ukraine. They will continue to receive licences under the same conditions as now, in accordance with Ukrainian law. The only thing that is changing, as the First Vice Prime Minister added, is the mechanism for finding funding for future licence holders.
"You have a licence to extract, for example, minerals, which you have received on a competitive basis. And then you realise that you don't have enough of your own resources to implement the project. You apply to the fund for funding, provide the conditions under which you are ready to attract financial resources, give a description of the project, and the fund can decide whether to fund this project or not. And in case of refusal, you can turn to other investors," Svyrydenko added.
Thus, the next potential investor should be offered conditions that cannot be significantly better than those announced by the fund.
Minerals agreement with the United States
On May 1, Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed an agreement on the establishment of the U.S.-Ukraine Recovery Investment Fund and partnership in critical minerals.
US President Donald Trump said that the United States could receive more than $350 billion after signing the minerals agreement.
The White House said that the signing of the minerals agreement with Ukraine reflects the United States' interest in the sovereign future of the country.
At a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation on 7 May, editorial changes were made to the draft law on ratification of the Agreement between the governments of Ukraine and the United States on the establishment of the US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.
